FOR JOBLESS MEN, A GARDEN SPOT

It is a paper bag kind of place, for when the men are not drinking wine out of paper bags, they are opening other paper bags to proudly display newly bought flower seeds and garden tools.

They meet here almost every morning and stay well into the night--middle- aged men, most of them unemployed and fond of such beverages as beer mixed with apple juice.

But they also are dedicated gardeners, protective nurturers of what Wood Street Cmdr. John Walsh calls a ''Victory Garden.''

Here in a vacant lot at the corner of Fry and Sangamon Streets on the Near West Side, they are planting turnips, collard greens, onions, peas, mustard greens and watermelon.

They have subdivided the lot into plots with makeshift fences. There is a scarecrow with a bleach bottle head and a hat--''a good hat, from Marshall Field`s,'' says Tom Dangerfield, 53.

There used to be a plywood tool shed, which garden founder Eddie Pugh kept unlocked and unguarded because, he said: ''I trust people.'' Nearly two weeks ago, someone burned it down.

The men, some of whom come to the garden from as far away as 107th Street, say they are too old to stand on street corners, where gang youths congregate, and too poor to pay for drinks in bars. They are not homeless, however; several say they own property.

Most of all, they say, they are former Southerners who never lost their love of the land, even if that land stands in the shadow of the Chicago & North Western tracks and amid heavy industry.

''When I came here, there was an apple tree,'' says Pugh, 47, a soft-spoken unemployed man from a rural Alabama town who found the spot four years ago. ''Then I saw mulberry trees, and I said, `This is nice. This is a haven.` ''

Pugh, who lives nearby, began planting. Friends joined him, and they removed junk and weeds and planted sod donated by a nearby bank. They made a planter out of wood scraps for flower seeds.

Pugh hauled an old wing chair under one of the trees and frequently reads there. At night, the men barbecue. In the morning, they fry eggs.

The fire hydrant is their irrigation system, and when harvest time comes, they give vegetables to hungry friends. But vandals uprooted some last year.

''The trees inspired me because they bear fruit, and where there is fruit, there is life,'' says Pugh. ''You can grow your own, and that`s a beautiful thing.''

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It is not a beautiful thing to see men sleeping in the street, breaking bottles, fighting and cleaning fish at the fire hydrant.

Such sights have prompted complaints from some parents at the Near North Montessori School, 1010 W. Chicago Ave., and the owner of Phoenix Mechanical Industries, a heating and air conditioning company at 823 N. Lessing St.

The Phoenix Mechanical owner, who identifies himself only as Dave, is fond of Pugh and gives him fertilizers and seeds.

He says, however, that a rough crowd has surrounded the gentle Pugh. An employee`s car window was smashed two weeks ago, nearby abandoned trucks have caught fire, and Dave had to rescue Pugh from a fight.

''Some guys come from Cabrini-Green. They might have habits, and they see something they could take,'' Pugh concedes. ''But I`m not bothering anything.''

There is no evidence connecting the gardeners to crimes, and police cannot order them to leave unless the lot owner complains, says Cmdr. Walsh. Police are still trying to find out who owns the lot.

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The men are somewhat embarrassed that a visitor has come so early in the season.

They are planting. Victor Williams, 58, who is unemployed, arrives with a radio in one hand and a collard plant in the other. John Waddell, 58, an occasional handyman, is critiquing 54-year-old Hilton ''Skeet'' Woods` hoeing. ''Don`t dig it so deep, Skeet,'' he says. ''You knocked that plant over there--you put too much dirt on it, man.''

''Oh, man, I forgot to get the stuff for the bugs,'' says Woods, a printing and die factory worker.

Pugh has high hopes for this year`s crop. He is planning to spray his beloved apple trees for worms in hopes of a first harvest and has planted hot peppers next to tomatoes in an experimental effort to grow spicy tomatoes.

A commuter train`s roar and a butterfly are in the air. ''Most of all,''